Another Day
by xTheTwilightPrincessx
Summary: Axel gazed at Roxas' sleeping form, his lips slowly forming a small smile. He looked so sweet and innocent, and Axel was filled with the overwhelming urge to protect him, to look after him and make sure nothing bad ever happened to him again. Oneshot.


**Just something cute my sister helped me think up. Though the end was all mine. I own nothing, though I desperately wish I owned Axel.

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With one final swing of the blade, the monstrous heartless crashed to the ground with a sickening thud and slowly faded away, releasing its captive heart. Roxas doubled over, dropping his keyblade and clutching his stomach. The heartless had caught him off guard and slashed him with its long claws, leaving a long bloody gash across his stomach. He collapsed to his knees, panting heavily, and struggled to stay conscious. The dark corridor was a mere 20 feet away, and passing out in the middle of the desert was probably not such a good idea.

Roxas staggered to his feet and stumbled towards the portal, both arms still wrapped around his stomach in an attempt to lessen the bleeding. He pushed himself to the corridor, but the pain was too much. He cried out and collapsed to the ground as darkness filled his vision.

For a while, there was nothing. And then...

"Roxas! Roxas, wake up!"

A muffled whimper escaped the blonde's lips as his eyes fluttered open. Red and green swam before his eyes, and he squeezed them shut again. The pain had not subsided; if anything, it had only gotten worse.

"Drink this." The voice commanded, and he felt a bottle shoved against his lips. He parted them slightly, and shuddered as the bitter liquid trickled down his throat. Almost immediately, the pain began to decrease, and his eyes opened again. The haze cleared slowly, revealing a very concerned Axel staring down at him. He was vaguely aware of the cold, hard floor under his lower half, and Axel's arm around his upper.

"Jeez, Roxas. You had me really scared there. You can't do that to me." Axel scolded, his face flooding with relief. He turned his attention to Roxas' stomach, where the gash had closed up and the skin was growing back over it. Before long, only the faintest line was visible in its place. Roxas noted that his cloak was nowhere to be found, and his shirt had been shoved up to his chest. Axel's own cloak lay discarded next to him, and though it was black, he could tell it was soaked with blood.

Roxas groaned and, with Axel's support, slowly sat up. He immediately regretted the decision as a wave of dizziness took him, and he nearly blacked out again.

"Woah, easy there, buddy. You lost a lot of blood." Axel said, his green eyes shining with worry. "Come on, let's get you to your room." With that, he gently lifted Roxas and began to make his way towards the younger boy's room, taking care to walk slowly to prevent any further dizziness.

Roxas closed his eyes and subconsciously nestled himself into the redhead's arms. The walk was made in silence, until they reached the door that marked the entrance to Roxas' room.

"Here we are." Axel announced, turning the doorknob with his elbow and pushing the door open with his hip. Roxas opened his eyes and looked up at the green ones as their owner slowly lowered him into his bed, and a thought occurred to him.

"Make sure to get some rest now. And don't do this to me ever again, understood?" Axel commanded. His voice was stern, but he was smiling comfortingly.

"Axel?"

"Hm? You okay there, Rox?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just...you said something before, and..."

Axel looked puzzled. "What are you talking about? Are you sure you're thinking straight?"

Roxas shook his head. "No, listen," he insisted. "You said...that I scared you. Fear...isn't that an emotion?"

Axel was taken aback. He tried to think of a response, but couldn't. Instead, he just smiled and brushed a strand of blonde hair out of the boy's face.

"Get some sleep, Roxas."

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Axel stepped into the dark corridor, his mission completed. Normally, from here, he would head straight to the clock tower for ice cream with Roxas and Xion, but he had realized earlier that his pockets were bare, and he needed to stop back at his room to get munny for the ice cream.

He felt the darkness surround him, felt the usual strange tingling sensation as he was transported through space to the World that Never Was. His mind was elsewhere as he stepped into the cold, bare Gray Area of the castle...that is, until he saw Roxas, motionless on the floor and covered in blood.

Axel froze. Roxas wasn't moving, and he was bleeding profusely. What if...no, he couldn't even think it. Besides, he would have faded into darkness by now if the worst had happened. But still...

A switch seemed to flick in his brain, and he snapped out of his frozen stance and sprinted over to the unconscious form. "_Shit_." Axel thought, inspecting the blonde's body. He seemed to have a deep gash across his stomach, which continued to bleed at an alarming rate. Axel gingerly unzipped the boy's cloak and removed it, throwing it to the side carelessly. He lifted his shirt and immediately winced. It was a nasty wound, possibly fatal if he didn't do something.

"Roxas! Roxas, wake up!" Axel pleaded, fear evident in his usually calm voice. Roxas seemed to stir, his eyes opening for half a second and a painful whimper escaping his lips, before falling still again.

Desperation began to fill up in the redhead. With shaky hands, he removed his own cloak and pressed it down on the wound, praying that the added pressure would stop the bleeding. One hand held the cloak down, while the other began frantically searching its pockets. His hand clutched a small glass vial, and he sighed in relief.

"Drink this." Axel commanded, uncorking the vial and shoving the edge of it to the motionless lips. Roxas seemed to shift at the sound of the older boy's voice, and his lips parted ever-so-slightly. Axel snaked one arm under his friend and propped him up slightly before tilting the vial and allowing the potion to make its way into his mouth.

The potion began to take effect almost immediately. The bleeding stopped, and Axel carefully removed his now blood-soaked cloak and placed it to the side. Roxas' eyes opened slowly, and he looked up at Axel, disoriented and weak.

Axel's body flooded with relief, and he smiled down at the blue-eyed boy below him. "Jeez, Roxas. You had me really scared there. You can't do that to me." He scolded. He turned his attention to the gash, which had now closed up and was in the process of healing. Before long, only the faintest line remained of what had been a potentially fatal wound a minute ago.

Roxas groaned and attempted to sit up. Axel's arm was still wrapped around his back, and he gently supported him as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. Upon doing so, his head fell back and he nearly slipped into unconsciousness again as a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Woah, easy there, buddy. You lost a lot of blood." Axel said, staring worriedly down at the blonde. "Come on, let's get you to your room." He placed his other arm underneath Roxas' legs and gently lifted him. Axel turned and began to make his way down the hallway towards Number XIII's room, taking care not to disturb him as he walked. He felt the smaller boy nestle into his arms, and couldn't help but smile.

The walk was made in silence, though not an uncomfortable one. The pair soon reached Roxas' room, which the redhead announced as he turned the doorknob with his elbow and pushed the door open with his hip. He gingerly laid the weakened boy into his inviting bed, even going as far as to tenderly tuck him in.

"Make sure to get some rest now. And don't do this to me ever again, understood?" Axel commanded sternly. He smiled fondly at Roxas, and began to turn away until he heard his name spoken by a small, tired sounding voice.

"Axel?"

"Hm? You okay there, Rox?" Axel asked, turning back to gaze concernedly at his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just...you said something before, and..."

Axel looked confused. What did he say that would've caught the boy's attention? He hadn't said much...

"What are you talking about? Are you sure you're thinking straight?" Axel replied, puzzled.

Roxas shook his head. "No, listen," he insisted. "You said...that I scared you. Fear...isn't that an emotion?"

Axel was taken aback. Why was Roxas asking him this? He considered what to say, but couldn't think of a good response. Instead, he smiled and brushed a piece of blonde hair out of the boy's face.

"Get some sleep, Roxas." He said softly. Roxas seemed as if he was going to protest, but he was too weak, and realized that sleep would be the best thing for himself. His blue eyes closed slowly, reluctantly, and he looked almost instantly to have fallen into a deep sleep.

Axel gazed at Roxas' sleeping form, his lips slowly forming a small smile. He looked so sweet and innocent, and Axel was filled with the overwhelming urge to protect him, to look after him and make sure nothing bad ever happened to him again. He placed a gloved hand on the younger boy's face, and leaned forward, pressing his lips gently against his forehead.

"Another day, Roxas. I'll explain everything. I promise."

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**So precious. Love Axel to pieces. It's adorable how much he cares about Roxas. Review please?**


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